Things We Like: Melissa's pre-packaged crępes

May 23, 2013

Melissa's crępes are available at local grocery stores, including Raley's. / Photo by James Ball/RGJ

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Melissa’s crępes

Where you can buy it: Grocery stores around town, including Raley’s at 1690 Robb Dr. in Northwest Reno Cost: $6 The best thing about it: Simplicity is key here. When you need to whip up a quick appetizer or breakfast in record time, these crępes will do the trick. Details:www.melissas.com

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With apologies to Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, who told us there’s “nothing like the real thing baby,” sometimes close is good enough, especially when you have 10 minutes to whip up breakfast and bolt out the door for work.

In my quest for culinary efficiency in the mornings, I recently stumbled upon a package of Melissa’s crępes at my local Raley’s in northwest Reno. It had been a long time since I’d had a crępe, but my memories of eating them at Atlanta’s Magic Pan at Lenox Mall in the late ’70s were good ones, so I gave it a shot. Crępes were the hot thing back then, before Americans moved on to sushi and pho and Mexican street food.

On a recent Monday morning, instead of taking the usual route of topping them with fruit and whipped cream, I decided to create some less sugary crępes. I sauteed some onions, tomatoes, mushrooms, spinach and tofu (eggs would be fine, too) and spread a mascarpone cheese on the crępe shell before stuffing it with the veggies.

What resulted was surprisingly good. The mascarpone added that sweetness you look for in crępes, while the vegetables were filling enough to hold me until lunch time.

Of course, with the proper amount of time, you can make your own crępes with flour, eggs and milk (recipes abound on the Web), or you could check out the crępes at Creme Cafe or any number of places in town that specialize in them, but sometimes convenience is king.

More importantly, it rekindled an interest in a food I hadn’t tried in more than 30 years. Now, off to learn more about these French treats because right now, I don’t know crępe.